Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The information services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $346.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.87 million. Hello Group had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 7.51%.

Here are the key takeaways from Hello Group’s conference call:

• Total Q1 revenue fell 5% year over year to RMB 2.39 billion, as domestic weakness outweighed strong overseas growth. Adjusted operating income was roughly flat at RMB 349 million, with margin holding at 14.6%.
• Domestic revenue declined 15% year over year amid tighter tax scrutiny on Momo-related agencies, softer consumer sentiment, and lower Tantan paying users. Management said the tax-related pressure was most severe in March through May and expects improvement later in the year.
• Overseas revenue grew 44% year over year to RMB 597 million and rose to 25% of group revenue, driven by diversified product expansion. Management reiterated confidence that full-year overseas revenue can reach about RMB 3 billion.
• MENA new products continued to scale quickly, with Yaahlan approaching break-even and amar reaching positive marginal contribution for the first time. Management said both businesses are growing with improving margins and are being scaled in an ROI-driven way.
• AI remains a key product and monetization lever, with features like AI chat assist and AI voice drift bottles already showing promise. The company plans to extend its AI stack across Momo, Tantan, and new products, and said AI spending should be high return rather than a major near-term profit drag.

Hello Group Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of MOMO stock opened at $6.13 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.45. Hello Group has a 12 month low of $5.68 and a 12 month high of $9.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $659.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 0.46.

Hello Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 475.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th.

Institutional Trading of Hello Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MOMO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hello Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,146,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Hello Group in the second quarter worth approximately $8,904,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Hello Group by 882.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 859,024 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,250,000 after acquiring an additional 771,624 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hello Group by 7.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,127,428 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $51,284,000 after acquiring an additional 546,048 shares during the period. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hello Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,128,000. 50.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Hello Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.10.

Hello Group Company Profile

Hello Group Inc (NASDAQ: MOMO) is a China-based technology company specializing in mobile social networking and interactive entertainment. Its flagship product, the Momo app, offers location-based social discovery services that enable users to find and connect with new friends based on shared interests and geographic proximity. The platform integrates instant messaging, group chat, and content-sharing features, while also providing premium subscriptions and in-app purchases such as virtual gifts and sticker packs.

In addition to Momo, Hello Group’s portfolio includes Tantan, a dating-focused social app designed to help users build meaningful relationships through profile matching and interest-driven swiping.